John MacLean, a Scotland fan living in the US, has donated nearly £2,000 raised in his name to a mental health charity after he gave his World Cup ticket to a supporter who was scammed. MacLean handed over his £900 ticket for Scotland's opening match against Haiti to Jack Rundell, who had been duped out of £500. A GoFundMe page set up by Greig McBride raised around £2,700. After returning £900 to MacLean, the remaining £1,700 (after fees) was donated to Craig Ferguson's Tartan Trek for Scottish Action for Mental Health (SAMH).
Act of kindness sparks fundraising
Greig McBride launched the fundraiser to compensate MacLean for his generosity. However, MacLean insisted the extra money go to charity. McBride said: "After starting the GoFundMe to get him some money back for the ticket and it totally took off, I spoke to John. Because the money went way over the target, he suggested we donate the rest, £1,700, to SAMH and Craig Ferguson's appeal. It was all John's idea. He's so selfless."
MacLean's motivation
MacLean, originally from Stirling, now lives in Portland, Oregon, with his wife Jodie. He said: "My wife and I were looking at how much was coming in on the GoFundMe. It was clear that it was going well past what we paid for the ticket and it didn’t feel right to take any more money than the value of it. It wouldn’t have been in the spirit of why people were donating." The couple were inspired by Craig Ferguson's 3,000-mile Tartan Trek across America, which raised over £1 million for SAMH. MacLean added: "We had read the stories and watched the videos of Craig Ferguson doing his walk for SAMH and it was brilliant. We thought it would be a great cause to add the extra money to."
Impact on the scammed fan
MacLean's original act ensured Jack Rundell could attend the match. MacLean said: "At the time, it was all about not wanting Jack to go back to Scotland with his whole experience of America just of being scammed, but now it’s going to help even more people." He expressed amazement at the positive response: "It was crazy to see that every comment was positive. We have never seen anything like that."
